By Paul Semendinger, September 19, 2020
The Yankees have now won nine consecutive games. Nine!
Here are some passing thoughts, random musings, otherly observations… you know, some perspectives on the team right now.
(The spellcheck doesn’t like the word “otherly,” but it is a legitimate word.)
The Yankees are now 30-21. That translates to 95 wins over a full season. By having some super hot streaks, the Yankees have put that terrible cold streak behind them and are now on par for how they would be if this were a regular season. I always feel that 95 wins is the mark of a real good team. More wins are better, but 95 wins is a solid number.
95 wins is an especially good number in the days of expanded playoffs. (Before the Wild Card, 95 wins didn’t usually win the division, but once 1996 rolled around, the game changed.) The 1996 World Champs won 92 games in the regular season. The 2000 Yankees won only 87 games. In today’s day and age, 95 wins most often gets a team into the post season dance. That’s where anything can happen.
The Yankees are 8-0 vs the Red Sox this year. Let’s hope they can beat them two more times and keep this winning streak going.
Streaks for the Yankees to match and go ahead of:
The 1926 Yankees won 16 consecutive games from May 10 to May 28
The 1953 Yankees won 18 consecutive games from May 27 to June 16
The 1947 Yankees won 19 consecutive games from June 29 to July 18
Baseball’s longest winning streak ever came from the 1916 NY Giants. They won 26 games in a row from September 7 to September 30. (Talk about a stretch run!)
Last night the Yankees had Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Gary Sanchez in the lineup at the same time. This was supposed to be the norm. I hope it is going forward and into 2021.
I’m looking forward to the 2021 season, with a hopeful 162 games and fans and and all of that. I haven’t enjoyed this season as much as in the past – even this winning streak. It’s fun to see the Yankees win, but this season has been different in so many ways.
I like the fact that even with the big bats in the lineup, that Clint Frazier is playing. His time is now. Let him play. I’d make him a central player in my 2021 roster construction.
With Gio Urshela seeming to be the real deal, he’s now had two good seasons in a row, it is time for the Yankees to trade Miguel Andujar this off-season.
The Yankees’ Magic Number for a playoff berth is three. They could actually clinch this weekend. Imagine that.
Cole, Tanaka, and Garcia. Is that BIG 3 enough to get the Yankees through all of the rounds of playoffs? It just might be.
If Masahiro Tanaka goes 3-0, 2.12 in the playoffs, does that compel the Yankees to re-sign him this off-season?
ESPN Insider (which I do not subscribe to) has an article (that I can’t read because it’s behind a firewall) that is titled, “Lure Brian Cashman from the Yankees? Why it could be Steve Cohen’s first move as Mets owner.” I have the easy response to that (no subscription required) – No way. No way at all.
The other day I realized that this coming Tuesday, September 22, is the fifth anniversary of Yogi Berra’s passing. I was shocked that Yogi passed five years ago already. We’ll dedicate much of the day to Yogi Berra and will replay some of our best Yogi Berra articles and features all day long on the blog as we remember one of the greatest Yankees of all-time.
